IL Instructional Archive: Dirty Work

As part of a new series, Inside Lacrosse is scouring its archives to bring you years worth of instructional tips that you may have missed. Below, Matt Kerwick explains how transition may be glamorous, but it takes a lot of little things to make it happen. This article first appeared in the August 2004 Issue.

Who were the players that grabbed your attention during the ’04 Final Four? The names Powell, Boyle, Lindsay, Pfiefer, Dingman, Barrie and Ford probably come to mind. If you speak to each of the coaches who had the fortune of competing on Memorial Day Weekend in Baltimore, though, I’m confident they will mention some other key student-athletes when discussing their success in the final four and throughout the season.

Players like Jarrett Park from Syracuse or Kyle Harrison from Hopkins or Steve Looney from Navy would be right up front if you ask those coaching staffs to name potential MVPs. The reason these young men have earned the respect of their peers and coaches is because they are throwbacks. They take a great deal of pride in playing the game at both ends of the field.

Just look at some of the Tewaaraton Award winners from the early part of the decade. Mike Powell at Syracuse is obviously one of the best offensive players to ever wear the Orange uniform, but have you watched how hard he rides? Chris Rotelli was a do-it-all, two-way midfielder at UVa. Doug Shanahan from Hofstra played great offense but was recognized for his face-off, clearing and groundball prowess. You’re not going to win an award like that by being one-dimensional.

The game of lacrosse is constantly evolving. The speed of the game, the size and strength of the athletes currently competing and the stick skills have all progressed over time. However, one aspect of the game that will always remain true is that every team needs the athlete that does the dirty work between the restraining lines. Although the game has become more of a half-field struggle, the teams that have advanced to the final four in recent years were excellent at the transition aspect of lacrosse. If you look back at championship weekend over the last 10 years, this is usually the case. And last year was certainly no different.

One of the trademark quotes of longtime Hobart coach Jerry Schmidt—a lacrosse legend— was, “Defensemen at the far end, attackmen at the other end and give me the athletes here in the middle.”

In order for your team to become a successful transition unit, you need to have intelligent and athletic transition players. When I’m recruiting student-athletes to Hobart, it is discouraging to hear a young man say he is an “offensive midfielder”. Midfielders need to take pride in playing defense and converting from one end of the field to the other. If this isn’t a priority, you may want to start calling yourself an attackman. Although many coaches have successfully installed a half-field approach, every team needs athletes that excel in playing the entire 110 yards.

How do you become a better transition player? You must approach this aspect of the game the same way you approach your conditioning and stickwork—with commitment and diligence.

To make yourself an effective transition player you need to be fundamentally sound. If you want to be part of a transition team, all 10 players must have the ability to recognize situations as they develop while also possessing excellent stickwork. The time spent on a wall and in stick drills will enable you to pick the tempo up as a team.

You never know, it may be just what the final four coaches are searching for next spring!?

Drills

Transition offense starts at the defensive end of the field. When your team commits to becoming a strong transition team, your coach will need to implement a few drills. These up-tempo drills greatly improve your stick skills and I’m confident you will look forward to them as a player.

3 vs 2 Short FieldThis is a great stickwork drill that allows each position to play offense and defense. It’s excellent early in practice to get the tempo up.

• Move the cages up to about five yards inside each restraining line.

• Form three lines on each goal line extended with one team in orange on one side and one team in white on the other.

• The goalie starts with the ball, and the first player in each line breaks upfield and then back to receive a pass from the goalie.

• All three players run full speed upfield quickly passing the ball between each other. Do not carry it!

• The last player to touch the ball (a shot, goal, missed pass, etc.) runs outside the drill back to his team’s lines.

• The two other players who just played offense must get back on defense with communication as the three opposing players break out of their three lines and attack the goal.

Last TouchThis drill works on many aspects of the game: breaking out of your own end, riding with your attackmen, converting back to defense, conditioning and recognition on both sides of the ball.

• Full field 4 vs. 3, eventually becoming a 5 vs. 4 drill.

• The orange defense sets up at one end with two lines of orange midfielders on the restraining line, one on either side of the field on the sideline. The orange attack plays at the far end. The white team mirrors the orange setup, with the white defense marking the orange attack, etc.

• The orange goalie must use his defense to clear the ball. All three white attackmen must ride it to the midline. The two orange middie lines must run up to midline and then come back to the ball. Once a midfielder breaks open, he will then carry it down for a 4 vs. 3 fastbreak. The other middie gets back in line.

• After five or 10 minutes of fastbreaks, go to “Last Touch”. The last orange midfielder who touched the ball must sprint back on defense and both white midfielders breaking out must stay in it on offense. This will create a 5 vs. 4 situation.

Breakout DrillThis is a great progression for your 6 vs. 6 and much more realistic than simply playing half-field 6 vs. 6. It will force you to recognize numbers at each position.

• The attack and defense set up at one end of the field.

• The midfielders set up in units at the far end in a defensive position.

• The first midfield group runs through a defensive set working on your sliding scheme then breaks out for your goalie. A coach at the substitution box sends in one, two or three riding midfielders.

• The middies clearing the ball upfield must recognize any numbers advantage they might have. It could be a 6 vs. 4, 6 vs. 5 or 6 vs. 6. The coach at the box can also send trailers.